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Turabian Citation Style Guide 9th Edition: A. Motion Picture

About Citing AudioVisual Media

For each type of source in this guide, the general form and specific examples will be provided for both the Notes-Bibliography and the Author-Date style options of Turabian.

This information and several of the examples were drawn from A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations (9th edition). Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the manual.

For further information, please ask your instructor or refer to the Turabian manual.

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Motion Picture

Citations for motion pictures may vary depending on which information is pertinent to your research. Your citation should at least include the title of the movie, date it was released or made available and the name of the studio or entity responsible for producing it. If viewed online, include the date of access and the URL (pp. 202; 264).

 

In general, when using the Notes-Bibliography style, for the Notes entry place the movie title in italics and follow with the director's name, name of the company that distributed or produced the move, and the year of release. Supply other information as necessary, including writers, actors, and producers. Include the format in which you watched the movie if other than in a theater (i.e. DVD, VHS, MPEG video). For the Bibliographic entry, you can list the movie under either the title of the movie or the name of the director. Please refer to the Manual for different examples (p. 202).

 

For Author-Date style reference list, cite the movie under the director's name and follow with dir. (p. 265).

 

Notes-Bibliography Style (p. 197):

General Format

Note: 
Note Number. Title of Movie, directed by First Name of Director Last Name of Director, featuring (Names of Primary Actors & Actresses) (Name of Producing or Distributing Company, Year), Format of Movie (Distributing Company, Year).
 
Bibliographic Entry (two example formats):

Title of Movie. Directed by First Name and Last Name of Director. Name of Producing Company, Year. Format. Name of Distributing Company, Year.

 
or 
 
Last Name of Director, First Name/Initial, dir. Title of Movie. Name of Producing Company, Year. Format. Name of Distributing Company, Year.
 
 

Examples

Note:
12. Crumb, directed by Terry Zwigoff (Superior Pictures, 1994), DVD (Sony Pictures, 2006).
 
or
 
14. Fast Times at Ridgement High, directed by Amy Heckerling, screenplay by Cameron Crowe, featuring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sean Penn (Universal Pictures, 1982), DVD (2002).
    
Bibliographic Entry:
Crumb. Directed by Terry Zwigoff. Superior Pictures, 1994. DVD. Sony Pictures, 2006.
 
or
 
Zwigoff, Terry, dir. Crumb. Superior Pictures, 1994. DVD. Sony Pictures, 2006.
  

Author-Date Style (pp. 260-1)

General Format

Parenthetical Citation:
(Director's Last Name Year)
 
Reference List Entry:
Director's Last Name, First Name/Initial, dir. Year. Title of Movie. Name of Producing Company. Format, Name of Distributing Company, Year.
 
 

Examples

Parenthetical Entry:
(Zwick 1989)
  
Reference List Entry:
Zwick, Edward, dir. 1989. Glory. Tri-Star Pictures and Freddie Fields Productions. DVD, Tri-Star Pictures, 2007.
      

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